


Äitiyspakkaus

by ThoseDaysThatWill



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Baby Fic, Finnish WJC gold-medal-winning Squad, Gen, M/M, Winnipeg Jets, huge piles of fluff everywhere, the fluffiest fluff that has ever fluffed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 06:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19739743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoseDaysThatWill/pseuds/ThoseDaysThatWill
Summary: "You've really taken to this." Patrik raised an eyebrow.Sami shrugged, "I guess so. A lot of the time I'm asking what to do, but I guess all first time parents do that.""It's so weird to hear you call yourself a parent." Roope added.





	Äitiyspakkaus

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in late June 2019, in Ontario, Canada. 
> 
> Most of the dialogue would be in Finnish, until I indicate it's all in English. 
> 
> I've been waiting to write this fic since they announced she was coming.
> 
> All mistakes are my own, but feel free, as always, to correct my Finnish.

_Ding, dong._

Sami's eyes snapped over to the bundle on the couch beside him, but she didn't so much as stir at the sound. That was one thing that had surprised him about her. One of _many_ things that surprised him about her, to be honest. She was a really good sleeper. He scooped up the bundle and walked to the door. It was probably another package, that's what it usually was. Sometimes he wondered if the mailman groaned at seeing their address on yet another package. It seemed like one or two came everyday. Redecorating, she said. He didn't see what was wrong with how it looked before. She was under a deadline, she said. People would be coming over. But that wasn't until next week, and the house already looked like a museum. But he didn't say that. He cradled the little bundle of blankets against his chest to open the door. 

The box he was expecting was there, however it was being carried not by the mailman, but by his teammate. "This is heavy," Patrik declared, in Finnish, "Get out of my way." 

Sami, still blinking in surprise, stepped back and gestured him inside. He was quickly followed by two other friends, also carrying boxes, though much smaller than the one Patrik sported. Theirs were wrapped in baby-themed paper and were deposited on top of the cardboard box Patrik had placed on the couch in the living room. Sami followed them in, shaking his head. "Uh, come in? Make yourselves at home." He frowned, "Your shoes?" 

Patrik rolled his eyes, "I had a heavy box. I'm going. I don't know what their excuses are." He gestured to the rest of the party as he walked back to the mudroom to kick off his sneakers. Dutifully, his friends followed suit. 

Sami sat back on the couch, shifting the baby to his arms. She wiggled a little bit, but didn't wake up. He loosed the blanket, tossing it over the back of the couch, so her legs would be free. He'd discovered that she got very fussy if her legs couldn't move for too long. Ben said that meant she was going to be an active kid, but Sami wasn't sure about that. He couldn't imagine anyone would like their body wrapped up like a mummy for too long, no matter how active they are. Sami liked to keep her out of the blankets as much as possible. 

Patrik sat on the couch beside him, looking down at her, "Damn, you got a good one, huh?" 

Sami laughed, "Yeah, we did." He shifted her so she was facing Patrik, even if she was still asleep. She smacked her lips a few times and wiggled into her new spot, but didn't open her eyes. Sami read the movements anyway, "She'll wake up soon, though." 

"You've really taken to this." Patrik raised an eyebrow.

Sami shrugged, "I guess so. A lot of the time I'm asking what to do, but I guess all first time parents do that." 

"It's so weird to hear you call yourself a _parent_." Roope added, sitting on the chair opposite them, tugging Sebastian nearly into his lap, "We're the same age, and I'd be terrified I'd drop her."

Sebastian shook his head too, perching on the arm of Roope's chair, "I'm not _adult_ enough to have a kid."

Sami laughed, "If you had to, you would do fine. I didn't know if I could either, but here she is and it's fine. So... not that it's not nice to see you, but why are you here?" He glanced over to the box on the opposite couch, "And do I even want to know what that is?" 

Patrik stood up, "I want it known that it was _my_ idea. They helped me figure out how to do it, but I thought of it." 

Sami laughed, "Okay, I get it. All you. I just don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing." 

Roope stood too, taking out a pocket knife to cut the tape on the large box. No one blinked at the idea that he would be carrying a knife, it would have been more surprising if he didn't have one. "You can't just go around having a baby without doing it _right_." 

Patrik leaned into the carton and pulled out, with a bit of a flourish, a brightly colored cardboard box, "You can't have a Finnish baby without--" 

"A baby box." Sami's eyes were wide as he looked between his friends. "How did you...?" 

Roope moved a vase of flowers so Patrik could place the box on the coffee table, "So as it turns out, to get one from the government, you have to prove you're a Finn having a baby, so that didn't work. They want doctors notes and shit. But there's this company run by some guys back home and they make ones that are pretty close to what you get. For people like you that have babies with _foreigners_ in foreign lands." 

"I said we should have got the Moomin box, but Pate said no." Roope pointed out. 

Patrik scoffed, "Damn right I did. You needed this one. _She_ needs a proper baby box if she's going to be a Finn."

Sami took in a deep breath, "Thank you..." He looked down at the baby in his arms, as she blinked her eyes open. "Emmi, you have a group of the best uncles on the planet." 

"Oh she's got a good name. I was worried, 'cause..." Sebastian trailed off, biting his lip. 

Sami laughed, "Her name is Emmerson Marie." 

" _Oh_." 

He shrugged, "She carried her, she's going to be the one taking care of her most of the time, she gets to pick the name. Ben and I agreed on that. But we knew we'd find a nice nickname for her, we just wouldn't tell Jacqueline. She _hates_ nicknames. But I like Emmi, I think it fits her. And if I want to think that's her given name, I can." 

Roope nodded, "As far as we know, that's her name." 

"Look in the box. You got almost everything in the real box." Patrik tossed the lid on the couch. "You don't get the condoms, though. I didn't think you needed them." At Sami's laugh, Patrik shook his head, "I'm serious! They put condoms in the boxes now. I guess it's 'you just had a kid, wait a while before you have another one'. But you two can fuck like bunnies and Emmi isn't getting a brother that way." 

"Thanks for that." Sami shifted Emmi, so she could watch what was being pulled out of the box with him. He had no idea if she could understand anything she was seeing, but her eyes were following them and she wasn't fussing, so he figured that she was getting something out of it. His mother told him that talking to babies like they were people made them smarter, so he'd been trying to do that as much as he could. In Finnish, of course. That made people smarter, too.

Roope stepped up to show off each item, "You get a shit ton of clothes for all different sizes. They ask what winter is like where you are, and we told them that it's colder than humans should live in. So..." He rooted through the pile of clothes, to hold up what seemed to be an off-white padded pillowcase with arms, "They sent this baby parka that can withstand Lapland, I think. Look! You stick the kid in there." 

Sami laughed, "Pay attention, Emmi, these might be the only clothes you will own that aren't pink."

Sebastian pulled a small ball of cloth out of the box and stepped up to her. Very carefully, he fitted the newborn cap on her head, "It's got the flag on it." He pointed to the tag sticking out of the side. "We're going to make sure she's as Finnish as possible, even though _you_ picked a Canadian."

Sami rolled his eyes, "You guys talk like I am the only one of us that is dating someone not Finnish. Let's look around the room, hmm?" He turned so that both he and Emmi were looking at Patrik. 

He shook his head, "Still Nordic. You've got _nothing._ We have to help Emmi all we can." 

"I want to argue this, but... thank you." Sami sighed with a smile, "My girl really is lucky to have all of you in her life." 

"Fuck, this is way too sappy for me." Roope started pulling more of the clothes out of the box, "Look at all the shit that comes in here." He started piling the clothes on the overturned lid on the couch, "And nothing is pink or frilly. I saw the pictures you sent of what she bought her. I still say we should have bought the Moomin one, but it was two- _hundred_ euros more, for the same thing just with Moomin on it." 

"That _might_ have been worth it, though." Sebastian added. "But Pate's point was a good one. She needs the _right_ stuff." 

"And _this one_ doesn't even have everything that you get from Kela. You _should_ have been able to get one from them, but since you can't, we had to get extra things. Like socks and uh, whatever other stuff." Roope pointed to one of the other boxes, nearly big enough to contain a microwave, "They're in there. I don't know what's in there, but Pate's mother said this one was missing important things. She bought that stuff. It's from her." 

Patrik picked up the wrapped box, "She told me to tell you we thought of it, but I told her that you'd never believe that." 

Sami laughed, "I might have. I wouldn't have guessed you'd think of all this." 

" _You_ would have." Sebastian said, pointedly. 

Sami ducked his head at that, "Thank you." It was true, but he wouldn't have said so. He was the friend that remembered everyone's birthday, and texted others to remind them to text each other. If any of them had anniversaries or children's birthdays, he would have known them too.

Sebastian waved that off, "Stop thanking us. Let me hold her, Roope's going to set the box up." He held his hands out for the baby and laughed when Sami hesitated, "I've held babies before. I won't drop her." He smiled, as Sami very carefully transferred the baby into his arms, "Hey there, Emmi. I'm going to be your favorite uncle." Sebastian kept his eyes on the baby, but was all too aware of how close Sami was hovering. 

Meanwhile, Roope had emptied the box completely. "Labeling everything is genius. The packages tell you what each thing is." He declared, as he unfolded what seemed to be the mattress cover. With a limited amount of struggling, he managed to get the mattress into the cover and properly zipped up. "There's no pillow." 

"Babies don't use pillows." Sami informed him, shaking his head, "You don't put anything in the crib with the baby, not even a blanket. Look at how tiny her nose is, anything could smother her. She just lays on the mattress and that's all. Not even stuffed animals or anything." 

Roope shrugged, "Okay then, the box is ready." 

"Uh--" Was the only sound Sebastian got out before Emmi burst out crying. Sami stepped in quickly to pick her up out of his arms, holding her against his chest. "That wasn't my fault!" Sebastian protested, "She got this look. I think she totally just peed." 

Sami nodded, "I know, that's her 'I'm wet' cry. She hates dirty diapers, even for a second. I'm going to go change her." He turned to carry her into her bedroom. 

"Wait." Patrik grabbed the other, much smaller, wrapped package and followed Sami up the stairs. 

Roope sat on the couch, arranging the baby clothes into piles, "You ever want one?" 

Sebastian sat down on the other side of the cardboard cover, helping him stack the clothes, "Maybe." 

"You look like you know how to do it." Roope's eyes stayed on what he was doing, but his cheeks pinked a little, against his will. 

Sebastian shrugged, "Teammates kids, sometimes even fan kids. What about you?" 

He shook his head, "I don't think I'd be any good." He took in a slow deep breath, "Would you want them with Teuvo?" 

Sebastian's lips quirked into a small smile, "Maybe. He'd be a good father, I think." 

Roope scoffed, "He's _old_ enough." 

"What does that mean?" Sebastian stared at him, "He's only three years older than me. It's not like _I'm_ going after some _teenager_." 

Roope rolled his eyes, "He's only three years younger than me." 

"Then you shouldn't talk about age things, should you?" Sebastian stood up to check over the mattress in the box, smoothing out the wrinkles. 

Roope watched him, not saying anything. After making sure everything that came out of the box was piled neatly on the cover, he stood, putting his back to Sebastian to work on breaking down the outer carton that the baby box had come in. Anything not to have to look at him. 

"You seemed to be having a good time with Miro." Sebastian pointed out, his voice as close to a monotone as he could get it. 

Roope nodded, "I am." 

"Then you shouldn't be talking like you're _jealous_ of Teuvo." He sighed. 

"I'm _not_." Roope snapped. 

"You sounded like it." Sebastian turned to put a hand on Roope's back, "Were you?" 

He stopped struggling with the box and took a deep breath before turning around, "Maybe." 

Sebastian rested his hand on his shoulder, looking up to meet his eyes, " _Good_." His smile quirked up on one side of his mouth. 

Roope rolled his eyes, "Fuck you, Sepe." In one motion, he wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed him deeply. Sebastian closed his eyes, sliding both hands up into Roope's hair, returning the kiss wholeheartedly. 

"Can you two keep your hands off each other for one whole hour?" Patrik's voice did nothing to stop the scene playing out in front of him. He turned back to Sami, "They were flirting on the plane, it was sickening." 

Sami scoffed, "You're one to talk. You can't play cards without looking like you want to jump across the table and into his lap." He shifted Emmi to rest against his chest, as if shielding her from the scene in his living room. 

"Have _you_ looked in the mirror?" Patrik retorted. 

Sami laughed, "Well, I never said I didn't. But I also didn't complain about _them_ doing _that_." He shook his head, "As long as their clothes stay on." He walked over to the box, testing the firmness of the mattress. He smiled, "Emmi, you're going to love this bed. Mama's going to hate it, but we won't tell her about it." Gently, he laid the baby down in the box, watching her wiggle and kick her legs until she found a comfortable spot. He couldn't help the grin, even biting on his bottom lip. Taking out his phone, he snapped a few pictures, and a bit of video. He sent one of the pictures to his mother and another to his brothers. He couldn't take his eyes off the outfit they'd changed her into, "She looks good in blue."

Patrik laughed, "Don't we all. Will her eyes get lighter?"

Sami shook his head, "I don't think so. Ben's eyes are brown." 

He shrugged, "She'll still look good in blue." 

Sami laughed, "Oh, I know. She is Finnish. Can you keep an eye on her while I go fix her bottle?" 

"Yeah, but if she does anything, you better get your ass back here." Patrik called after him.

It was less than ten minutes later that the front door was unlocked. Roope had pulled Sebastian down into his lap in one of the chairs, but they'd at least come up for air. Patrik was kneeling beside the box, watching the baby, who was watching him at the same time. He offered his finger to her, smiling when she grabbed at it. None of them glanced even towards the door when it opened.

Ben and Sami stepped into the living room at the same time, from opposite sides. Sami flashed him a smile. He switched to English, though all the Finnish thickened his accent, "Hey, come see her!" He gestured to the box on the coffee table. 

Ben raised an eyebrow, stepping up to look inside, "Why is our daughter laying in a box?"

He laughed, "It is vuodelaatikko!" At Ben's confused look, Sami continued, excitedly, "Suomessa, when someone has a baby... they, Kela, uh, Kansaneläkelaitos give them a box and it has all the clothes and things for the baby. And there is a... a... patja. And then the box is a crib, you sleep it in. Finnish babies do this. And they," He gestured to his friends, smiling even more, "They come here and bring one for Emmi. Because she is Finnish, too."

Ben looked for a long moment at Sami and then down at Emmi in the box. He seemed to be considering something, and Sami just watched him do it, letting him process all of that. Finally Ben looked up at Patrik, " _Kiitos_. I appreciate it too." He looked over to Roope and Sebastian, and nodded to them. "That was really thoughtful." He looked back to Sami, stepping closer to him, "You know I want her to have Finnish things too, but Jacqueline is going to flip over the idea of her sleeping in a box." 

He nodded, "I know, but I will tell her about it. Finnish babies are healthier because of it. Maybe... sometimes?" He gave a hopeful smile.

Ben laughed, "At least when we put her to bed." He leaned in to kiss Sami's cheek, "I like the Leijonat onesie. That's subtle." 

"She looks good!" Sami took in a deep breath, he knew he was overexcited, but at the moment, he also didn't really care how he was coming across. Everything about his daughter excited him, he wasn't going to shy away from that, and he didn't have to. Ben might not show his emotions as freely as Sami did, but he was just as excited, and because of that Sami didn't have to pretend he wasn't. He held out the bottle to Ben, "She's going to be hungry soon, so I got this ready." Just as he finished the sentence, soft cries came from the box. 

"You really have her schedule down, eh?" He laughed, "You take it. She likes it when you feed her better." 

Sami made a little face at that, but of course he liked to hear it. It took a moment to figure out how to scoop Emmi up from the box, but once she was cradled in his arm, she happily took the bottle. He moved over to sit on the couch, his eyes locked on her. He felt Ben sit beside him and he leaned back against him. Ben's head leaned against his and he whispered, "I love you." Sami wasn't sure if he was talking to him or to Emmi, but it didn't really matter. Ben's hand slipped around his waist, reaching up to take Emmi's hand.

"Have you ever seen anything so domestic in your whole life?" Patrik's voice and the laughter that the comment drew shattered the silence of the scene. But rather than be intrusive, it felt comfortable, it felt right. His life was different, Sami accepted that, but it wasn't completely different. His friends were still his friends. They were quick to accept Emmi as part of their found family without question. It wouldn't be the same, but that was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> The Finnish Maternity Package is brilliant. Read more about it here in [English](https://www.kela.fi/web/en/maternitypackage) or in [Finnish](https://www.kela.fi/aitiyspakkaus). The Finnish company that sells them internationally can be found [here](https://www.finnishbabybox.com/en/products/finnish-baby-box). An American company sells one closer to the actual Finnish box [here](https://www.finnbin.com/products/baby-box-finland-original-bundle).


End file.
